Image from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the dashboard tracking surveillance data of COVID-19 in wastewater samples in the United States. (Credit: U.S. CDC)
The CDC's Wastewater Surveillance tab will track SARS-CoV-2 levels in sewage at more than 400 testing sites across the United States. This marks the first time CDC's wastewater surveillance data is available for download.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new dashboard on Friday to track COVID-19 in wastewater samples across the country.
The CDC's Wastewater Surveillance tab will track SARS-CoV-2 levels in sewage at more than 400 testing sites across the United States.
This marks the first time CDC's wastewater surveillance data is available for download.
Wastewater surveillance is a promising tool for tracking the spread of SARS-CoV-2, said the CDC. Many people with COVID-19 shed the virus in their feces, so testing wastewater can help find COVID-19 in communities.
Because increases of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater generally occur 4 to 6 days before corresponding increases in clinical cases, wastewater surveillance can serve as an early warning of increasing COVID-19 cases and help communities prepare, according to the CDC.
Wastewater testing has been successfully used as a method for detection of other diseases, such as polio, according to the CDC. ■
